Differential response of two somatolactin genes to zinc or estrogen in pituitary of Cyprinus carpio

• Impact of either Zn or estrogen on expression of carp hypothalamo-hypophyseal factors.
• Increased mt in Zn or vg in E2 treated male carp in liver confirmed relevant response.
• Decreased mRNA level for both, slα and slβ, in response to Zn treatment.
• Differential response of slα and slβ mRNA to estrogen suggests subfunctionalization.

Environmental changes affect gene expression that we addressed in the pituitary, a central regulatory organ at the interface between the central nervous system and the endocrine system. With the aim to reveal effects of changes in the aquatic environment on the expression of hypothalamo-hypophyseal factors, we characterized somatolactin (SL) in Cyprinus carpio. SL, a fish specific pituitary hormone belonging to the prolactin (PRL) superfamily, is involved in background adaptation, osmoregulation, reproduction and fatty acid metabolism. Two sl genes, α and β, were discovered in carp and transcripts of both were detected in pituitaries. Clearly, expression of slα and slβ was modulated significantly in pituitary of male adult carp in response to treatment with ZnCl2 (Zn), but only slβ responded to 17β-estrogen (E2), relative to control carp as shown by RT-qPCR analyses. Furthermore, the amount of mRNA of related factors was assessed revealing variable effects on prl, growth hormone (gh), and factors involved in sl regulation: the pituitary transcription factor pit1 and hypothalamic pituitary adenylase cyclase activating peptide (pacap). In parallel, the physiological response of the experimental animals to Zn or E2 was confirmed by showing a significant increase of metallothionein (mt) or vitellogenin (vg) gene expression in liver, classical sentinels for exposure to heavy metal or estrogens.These data suggest that the sl genes seem to be involved in the response to Zn, as well as to estrogen, and could contribute to evaluate biological relevant changes in the aquatic environment.